Computers and computer technology have greatly increased the efficiency and capability of the individuals who use them. What historically required hours of re-typing and reams of carbon paper 30 years ago, can now typically be accomplished in minutes by a single person operating a word processing application. Spreadsheets, word processors, publishing software, electronic mail, and the like, each add some level of increased capability and simplicity to a user's life. However, with this increased capability a new responsibility has been added to the user: learning how to use this software.
An increase in software training techniques has closely followed the increased use and availability of such productivity software applications. In its simplest form, training is essentially the process of drafting a large user's manual and letting the user read through it to learn the operation of the product. However, a relatively large amount of time may be expended reading through a manual in order to find out specifics on how to operate a given product to perform a specific, desired task. Today, software training, at least in the context of corporations or businesses may be maintained and directed by Information Technology (IT) trainers.
An IT trainer may attempt to train people how to use various software applications, such as email, word processors, and the like, being used at the business. These IT trainers may provide a helpdesk to field calls or questions from employees asking how to perform specific tasks on the software product. Additionally, IT trainers may take a more proactive approach by providing written materials to people explaining and demonstrating the use of the specific product or the steps to take to perform a specific task. One solution for developing such materials would be to write the explanations and steps into a word processing document for distribution to the users. These how-to guides may include screen shots indicating how the product will respond with pop-up windows or dialog boxes along with explanations of what the user should do in response to the pop-up windows, dialog boxes, or the like.
Software applications have been developed to assist IT trainers in creating these instructional materials by recording the demonstrator's or trainer's interaction with the actual software product being demonstrated. Examples of such demonstration development environments include MACROMEDIA INC.'s ROBODEMO™, TECHSMITH CORPORATION'S CAMTASIA™, QARBON, INC.'s VIEWLETBUILDER™, and the like. Demonstration development software allows trainers to record actual simulations of the software to be demonstrated in order to demonstrate that software or how to use a particular feature of that software. The resulting recorded demonstration can then be made available to the users either electronically or on paper. In the electronic media, demonstration applications, such as ROBODEMO™, may record the trainer interaction onto an interactive multimedia movie file that may be played on a user's computer using an interactive multimedia runtime container (iMRC), such as MACROMEDIA INC.'s MACROMEDIA FLASH™ PLAYER.
For example, if instruction is to be given on how to attach a file to an email message, the trainer starts the demonstration development environment, starts the email program and begins with a screen shot of an e-mail message. As the trainer interacts with the email program, the demonstration software records the mouse moving up and clicking on the “Attach” icon, and the other steps for attaching the file. Once the recording is stopped, the trainer may then add captions that explain the various steps and movements that were made in performing the desired task. Captions, such as “Select the Attach Icon,” “Select the Browser Button,” and the like, may be added to the screen shot to textually inform the user what actions are to be taken. Adding captions to the screen shots provides a visual assistance to the user in seeing and being informed of the actual process step being demonstrated on a particular screen shot. However, trainers or demonstration developers expend considerable time and effort editing a demonstration file to add such captions.